photography student

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Busy busy life over here. From the election to fashion to babies to video documentaries, if I’m not running around as a restaurant hostess, I’m out shooting or doing my best to edit. Social life? Not this girl.

Something to think about as the first semester of being Second Year looms in the not-too-distant future. Where we’ll be allowed creativity – in its long sought after glory, independence – like a new country or teenager-turned-adult. Where we’ll be not only allowed but EXPECTED to be creative, independent, artistic, bold, vivacious.

Excitement. Angst. Nerves.

From this blog here a pro talks about her method, her fears, her millions of moments chasing a 1/125 of a second, hoping hoping waiting for magic, for grace, for beauty.

Our assignment this week was, obviously, finding and shooting cool tones. I went out and shot a few different times, but my favorite was late Tuesday morning. The day was gloomy and dreary. There was a drizzle of rain, misting my glasses and getting on my nerves. But I walked around downtown Atlanta, my camera in my hand, snapping away. And the longer I did this, the more numb my fingers turned, the less I could feel my nose, but the happier I became. I had a blast. Each picture, whether it fit the assignment or not, was a visceral reminder of why I’m here. Why I’m in school again in my (cough) thirties. I love, simply, taking pictures. I love creating an image, deciding a frame, attempting to capture mood and light and emotion inside a little rectangle.

I spent ten hours at school yesterday, working with the view camera to get one exposure, developing the negatives using a pain-staking, methodical, anxiety-inducing process with my developing partner, Nick Nesmith (45 minutes). I printed color pictures for a color wheel project.

I found out I placed third in a Skills competition and now will move on to the state level! The theme was Line, Repetition or Symmetry. We had one day to take 40 pictures and submit our best three. I was pretty surprised that I placed, considering the outstanding images submitted by my classmates.

Ten hours spent solely focused on photography. I love this.

I will also be taking part in a month-long photo-a-day challenge I discovered through Christina of Photo Says Hello. I’ll be posting those photos on my flickr page. Feel up to the challenge? Want to participate? Sign up over here.

In multimedia this week we dove in full body, head feet torso legs, and made a “simple” how-to video involving the Canon 7D using the Mark 5D to record. [these camera names may not be correct – I am a Nikon girl after all – excuse errors please] I was amazed at how nervous I was. Or maybe anxious is the better descriptive word. Recording video is something I’ve never attempted. Then there’s the added pressure of simply touching the illustrious 5D. But our team – Flex A – came out shining, fumbling and bumbling along the way [me], but laughing the whole time and being supportive of each other. I have big dreams for our group. We’re all very different, but aimed toward the same place. Like little arrows lined up, our faces pointing at this far-away, pot-of-gold goal. We’re gonna make it.